Abstract
AbstractThis chapter shows how significant Christian apologists and authors made extensive use of Graeco-Roman mythology to create their own hostile accounts of its gods and heroes, using every technique, too, of the pagan schools of rhetoric. They were also strongly influenced by Hellenistic Jewish sources. They built on one another’s information, omitting or adding different themes and interpretations, in response to their times. The effect of Constantine’s conversion in 312 ce and his legislation was only briefly shaken by Julian’s reign; by 392, pagan cults had been banned. The Christian faith rose above the sack of Rome in 410 to refute, but not entirely to forget, Graeco-Roman mythology.